American Public Opinion in the Conclusion of Vietnam War

Introduction Foreign policy making has layers and layers of process in it. Many parties are involved in the creation of a policy which will change the course of the nation, if not, the world. They are external factors, internal factors, and individual factors. Among the many parties involved in the making of a foreign policy is public opinion. Kennan (1967, 53) stated that American leaders tend to make statements and actions with regard not to their effect on international scene to which they are ostensibly addressed but rather to their effect on those echelons of American opinion. In this term, the reactions of American people, not the people from other countries, to a certain policy are taken as a consideration in the making of foreign policy in America. It appeals more within the country than outside the country. Most leaders want to get favorable opinion from their citizens to strengthen their standing in the government and if possible to win the next election. Trough out the history of America, there has been many occasions in which people react strongly against their nations foreign policy. Take the example of World War I and II, The Latin American War, Cuba Crisis, Vietnam War, Gulf War and the most recently Iraq War. Some of the protests done by the people of America came out fruitless in which their pleas are mostly ignored but most of the time, the government consider them seriously to the point that it changes the course of the nations foreign policy. Among the successful one might come from the Vietnam War and the recent Iraq War. Those people movement and public marches and demonstrations are one of the proofs of the ever growing political culture in America. People are aware on their roles in influencing the government to take actions on certain issues and people

take actions to actively involve in the process of creating the policy which will affect not only themselves but also other people from other countries. This strong political culture in America is something which inspires lots of people in the world to take action and take part in the creation of their countrys policy. Political Culture in the U.S refers to the political values, cognitions, ideas, and ideals about American society and politics held by the American people (Kegley and Winkopf, 1996: 257). The strong political culture in America itself is also considered as unique. This is due to the fact that the nation was founded on particular sets if values which are different from others (McCormick 1992). On which part of the peoples opinion matters the most in American foreign policy makers, the level of influence might not certain all the time since American culture and its people are fluid and pluralistic in which it has loosely bound culture so it is not always in favor of the majority despite being a democratic country. Political subcultures and alienated groups can also contribute to the nations foreign policy making (Kegley and Winkopf, 1996: 257). The strapping political culture in the U.S inspires the writer to analyze more on this particular topic. This essay aims to highlight the history of American political culture in which people take actions in the making of foreign policy in the U.S. The discussions will mainly be historical in nature but it also includes some critical opinions on the highlights of events presented in this essay and how it relates to Indonesia directly or indirectly. The relation itself might not be influential or causal in nature but it can inspire the Indonesian people who still need to cultivate their political culture relating to the nations policy making. It is hoped that this essay will inspire more people in Indonesia to actively involve and take a role in the politic of this nation after reading this essay.

Discussion 1. The nature of American Public Opinion It is true that public opinions change frequently especially in a multicultural nation such as the U.S. during its course of history, public opinion have alternated between periods of introversion and extroversion, between isolation from worlds problems and active involvement in shaping them to fit American preferences until the Vietnam War which is able to change the nature of internationalism in this country (Kegley and Winkopf, 1996: 264). It is also varied in nature and sometimes contradictory in which they might support one policy which brings goodness to the rest of the world but they refuse some part of it which do them harm. One of the examples of this is their refusal on the using of force abroad but they back the presidents when they choose to go to use arms forces instead of limited war (Kegley and Winkopf, 1996:264). John F. Kennedy even stated that it is erratic, inconsistent, arbitrary, and unreasonable which tends to make mistakes due to the lacking of information, underlying myths, stereotypes or prejudice. Most of time, the public opinion in America is highly influenced by the condition of the nation at that time. For example, during crisis or peril, most public opinion rolls in favor of the leaders (Kegsley and Winkopf, 1996: 276). When the nation is attacked or harmed, the people who previously against the use of arms forces and war, start to support their leader to use those elements keeping safe from harm. One of the examples is the rising popularity of Bill Clinton during the missile attack in Baghdad, George Bushs after the initiation of military actions against Iraq, Ronald Reagans regarding the bombing in Libya and Jimmy Carters after Camp David Middle East accords. However, not many of those public supports

go way down the drain when the time of crisis ends. Take the example of the plummeting of George W. Bushs popularity after the Iraq war despite the strong support he has in the War Against Terrorism prior to September 11 attack. Despite its lacking of rationality in Kennedys term, public opinions have created impacts on the U.S Foreign policy making. Kegley and Winkopf (1996: 278) stated that presidents care about the popularity with the American people because it affects their ability to work their will to others involved in the policy process. In this term, if a president becomes more popular, it is easier for him to reach his political agenda. It is called as the politic of prestige (Simon and Ostrom, 1988). In relation to foreign policy, the more popular they are within the nation, the more freedom they get to decide on what to do abroad since the is no public constraints anymore (Lian and Oneal 1993; Meernik 1994). Take the example of the public scrutiny on George W Bush foreign policy after the Iraq war and how they always criticize him which leads to his unpopularity in the public mass opinion. His ruined image somehow impact on the image of his party in which people keep on eye of each of their movements in the government. Some even suspect that it causes the loss of Republican Party in the following election. Within the course of its history it often occurs that public opinion can somehow constraints foreign policy innovation. Fundamental beliefs regarding foreign relations are typically inflexible that is why the was a time when American foreign policy was so resistant to change during the Cold War along with the resistance of public images on international politics. Public opinion acts as a brake on policy change, not by stopping innovations but by limiting modifications because of policymakers perceptions of the inflexibility and unpredictability of public opinion. One case example for this is the long lasting impact of

Vietnam Syndrome which somehow prevents the policymakers to make the same mistake in the war again. It explains on the reluctance of the country to conduct warlike approach following the war. Reagan also fails in getting the support of the mass to take firmer action regarding the Sandinistas as the part of the influence of this syndrome. Although it sometimes constraints the policy making process, public opinion can somehow stimulate foreign policy innovation. Some actions taken by the public either in the form of direct actions such as demonstrations or indirect actions such as polling proves to work in influencing the making of a new foreign policy. Take the example of the admission of China to the United nations which was supported by the mass and also the U.S foreign policy regarding the Apartheid movement under the publics influence. Although it might seem less significant, the withdrawal of the U.S troops from Iraq is believed to be influenced by public opinion although there are some other factors influencing it such as the economic crisis and the length of the war which causes not only material but also other losses in American side. Seeing the importance of public opinion in relation to foreign policy making, it is appropriate to say that it matters and impact both directly and indirectly on the nations foreign policy outcome. It can somehow restraint or stimulate the nation to create a new foreign policy which in the end will impact the rest of the world. This importance of public opinion might explain why president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono quickly reacts on matters which become public debate in Indonesia although sometimes they dont matter much politically. Public opinion influences their image and standing in politics that is why they listen to it and are expected to react accordingly.

2. The Vietnam War Conclusion and Public Opinion Vietnam War might be one of the most highlighted parts in the history of public opinion within political culture in the U.S. The war inspires thousands of people to react for the first time on the nations foreign policy. Some said that the 1960s is the landmark of the victory of the public over the country through the counterculture movement which includes layers or societies and issues. Counterculture movement is a massive movement done by various layers of society regarding various issues at the moment which includes war, womens right, civil right, social and youth freedoms etc. The movements range from public marching, demonstrations, sit-ins, music gatherings, public poll and others which are able to somehow change the course of history in America. The movements inspired from the issues within nation but somehow it impacts the international especially regarding the conclusion of Vietnam War. a. The Vietnam War and the Domino Theory Howard Zinn in his A Peoples History of American Empire (2008) highlights the 1960s as the revival of the public movement in America. Japan withdrew from Indochina (which used to be Frenchs colony) in the fall of 1945 after their lost in the World War II. After Japans retreat, one year later, French launched a war against the Viet Minh, the growing revolutionary movement led by Ho Chi Minh which aims to free Vietnam from the colonials and gain independence. A secret memo from the National Security Council which stated about the Domino Theory which states that like a row of dominoes, if one country fell to communism, the next would do the same and so on came to the U.S. Thus, by 1954, the U.S was financing 80% of French war effort to stop communism to spread in Asia. It is later

revealed that in fact, Vietnam area is rich with natural resources and worthy to anyone who owns it. With the support of the Vietnamese to Ho Chi Minh, they finally won the war in 1954 against U.S backed French. The Geneva assembly then divides the country into North controlled by the Viet Minh and the South controlled by France. There should be an election to let the Vietnamese to choose their leader however, in 1955 the U.S set up a puppet dictatorship led by Ngo Dinh Diem as a defense department stated: South Vietnam was essentially the creation of the U.S(Zinn, 2008: 181). Diem was not popular in South Vietnam due to his dictatorship and it led to many guerilla movements and protests against the ruling government. The anti government movements in the South was then supported by the North. It then creates a sort of civil war in Vietnam. In early August 1964, President Johnson uses the excuse on the event of Gulf of Tonkin to start the war with Vietnam. It is stated that the North Vietnam attacked a U.S Naval Vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin which later found as a conspiracy to star a war in Vietnam. Johnson sent 200,000 of troops to South Vietnam in 1965 and 200,000 more in 1966 (Zinn, 2008: 181). It is stated that the condition of the war was horrible in which the U.S troops had difficulties in dealing with the guerillas. More troops died and psychologically affected. The drafting of the troops however, still happen within the U.S nation. It is also stated that there are some misconducts happen during the war done by the U.S troops related to racial segregation of the black American troops which later influence the condition in the U.S

b. What Happened Within the U.S During the War Thousands of youth finally found out on the real issue regarding the war in Vietnam. Martin Luther King Jr strongly opposed the war by giving public lecture and spreading the idea that the cost of war was too much and it can be used to aid the segregated people within the country rather than winning a war which has no relation to public welfare. The strong opposition of Dr. King inspire lots of youths at that time added with the media coverage on the real condition of the war in Vietnam. The public distrusts elevated significantly prior to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. More marches, sit-ins, protests and anti war movements are held by the youths and the public in general. The most influential one was the death of a catholic high school student who had entered a cathedral in Syracuse, New York and set himself on fire to protest the war (Zinn, 2008: 177). The death wakes the people on the real reasons behind the war which leads to more protests by burning the drafting papers. More gathering and protests happen throughout the nation at that time and the government tried everything to stop the activism by doing sweeping and investigations on suspicious citizens. In April 1970, President Richard Nixon announced that U.S troops had invaded Cambodia which brings the protests to the war to another level. The war is getting worse despite the public protests on the policy. It shows how the government tried to ignore the massive public protests and continue on their own counter communism foreign policy plan. Students of Kent State University who held protests against the war were fired which caused four students killed and nine wounded. In the spring 1971, The Vietnam Veterans Against The War marched on Washington after the U.S invade Laos, Vietnams neighbor. The government officially sealed off the capitol steps with plywood fence to prevent the

protestors but on April 23, 1,000 vets marched to that fence and returned the medals the nation gave them (Zinn, 2008: 185). To take the protests to another level, a half million of protesters from around the country gathered around the capital to protests the war. More and more anti war protets both violent and non violent occur trough out the nation which created civil crisis. The persistent government who used to ignore their citizens opinion start to reconsider their policy on the War in Vietnam. With the rapid development of the movement, it applied pressure to the presidential administration and planted doubt of Americas purpose in the war. President Johnsons cabinet started questioning military involvement in Vietnam and in 1967, Johnson fired Defense Secretary McNamara when he questioned the morality of American involvement in the war. Johnson soon realized that his closest advisors were in fact, turning against him and the war effort as dissention continued to consume mostly everyone in the nation. AS the war dragged on and failure was in sight, many troops simply gave up the fight and sometimes sabotaged missions while stationed in Vietnam. The later years of the war sparked an escalated period of protest after the Tet Offensive. Americans questioned the governments will to release and report information about what was happening in Vietnam as well as the wars progress. Protest crossed the line of violence and rioting after the Tet Offensive with brutal clashes between police and citizens. When Nixon became president, he rallied to lessen the pressure the movement was putting on the war effort by withdrawing troops from Vietnam, ending draft calls and putting a draft lottery into motion (Wells, 2004: 5). However, there was nothing anyone could do to permanently stop the pressure the anti-war movement was putting on the war effort. Only total withdrawal from the affairs of Vietnam and the end to the war would bring an end to such a movement.

c. The Aftermath of Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a war that was tremendously out of favor in the country. The people who opposed outnumbered the supporters immensely and this difference of numbers increased distressingly fast as the war progressed. Different forms of protest occurred with outstanding results and happenings as more people of the nation joined together and expressed their feelings and celebrate their rights as citizens. The developing counterculture and new left beliefs motivated people to break away from the conservative lifestyle of the 1950s and to get involved with the issues of society and the world. They did so by forming organizations and participating in mass protest to express their opinions. Even though political administration attempted to relive the immense pressure applied on the war effort by granting some of the protesters wishes, the movement could not simply be eliminated that easily. The movement was so large and involved that the only way it would end was if the war was finally over. The spirit of Americans, mainly the strong counterculture of the 1960s, led the anti-war movement to be one of the most influential and groundbreaking movements in the history of the United States. The devastating effect of the war within the nation and outside the nations wake the U.S governments eyes on their own foreign policy. The function of public opinion as presented in Kegley and Winkopf (1996) as both constraints and inspiration or stimuli can be seen in the chronicle of Vietnam War inside and outside the nation. The constraints function is shown in the reluctance of the government to make the same mistake in Vietnam in the near future. President Ronald Reagan called it as Vietnam Syndrome which calls for more attention on the future plan regarding the use of massive troops to gain their own foreign

policy goals. Henry Kissinger also resigned after the war and stated that the Vietnam War was a mistake. Seen from the conclusion of the war, does it mean that the public opinion still matter in the making of foreign policy in the U.S? The answer might be varied when it is seen from different point of views. The first point of view came from the foreign policy mechanism within the internal of policymakers. The protests started in the early 1960s brought by Martin Luther King Jr address on the reason behind the war and continued to escalate in the early 1970s with more protests and deaths occurs both nationally and internationally. Statistic shows that the highest death rate in the U.S happened in 1968 with 16,899 deaths (DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File, 2008) and more deaths occurred during the war. The U.S do not want to lose more citizens in the future. Conclusion After reading the content of the essays on the nature of public opinion and the Vietnam War riots: we can see that the war has brought a new historical landmark regarding the public opinion power in influencing the governments policy. The 1960s is always been remembered as a decade of change and civil movement in which citizens begin to take actions and actively involved in the American cultural politic. Before the 1960s there is no major occurrence which triggers the nation to unite and fight against the government regarding their foreign policy decision. Nowadays, the tracks of the movement ca be seen in the way American citizens continuously observe the governments job and reacts accordingly to any kind of issues which they deem as misplace or mistaken.

The marches of the green peace, the protests against Iraq war and Afghanistan, the awareness on the international involvement of their country still happen until now. Those public movements were started in the 1960s and now become a common thing to do whenever the public notice something is wrong with the government. Indonesian people can learn much on the counterculture movement against the war in Vietnam. We can learn from a decade of restless movements and protests, it finally gained positive results in the end. No matter how small, the public opinion matters in policy making process both for foreign and national purposes. References Barringer, Mark. The Anti-War Movement in the United States. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. 1998. Internet. 28. May. 2007. p.1-3.Available: www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/vietnam /antiwar.html Kegley, Charles. W. and Eugene R. Wittkopf. American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process. 1996. St. Martin Press. New York Kennan, George. F. The United States and the Soviet Union 1917-1976 Foreign Affairs 54 (July): 670-90. Miles, Barry. Hippie. New York, Sterling Publishing CO., INC. 2004. Wells, Tom. The Anti-War Movement in the United States. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. 1998. Internet. 28. May. 2007. p.5. Available: www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/vietnam/antiwar.html Zinn, Howard, Mike Konopacki and Paul Buhle. A Peoples History of American Empire. 2008. H.B Fenn and Company Ltd. Canada

Public Opinion in the Conclusion of Vietnam War

A foreign policy essay as the final assignment for American Foreign Policy class in American Study Society Master Program, Gajah Mada University

Submitted by: Nafisatul Lutfi NIM: (12/339403/PSA/07288)

Master of American Studies Major Culture Studies Faculty Gajah Mada University 2013